The first step in a long process to improve mobility for all users of Main Street kicked off last week, and Denver-based traffic engineering firm Fehr & Peers is now working to integrate citizen feedback and data into an official Access Control Plan.
Fehr & Peers principal Ann Bowers and Colorado Department of Transportation Region 5 Traffic and Safety Engineer Mike McVaugh informed attendees of the plan’s June 24 kickoff meeting that the overarching goal was to make drivers slow down and realize they were passing through a town while simultaneously making it safer for those on foot.
Because the composition of the neighborhoods north and south of the highway changes from block to block, the city, Fehr & Peers, and CDOT plan three study areas: Maple to Harrison streets; Harrison to Sligo streets; and Sligo to Patton streets.
Options such as adding medians with pedestrian refuges, slimming lanes down from 12 to 11 feet, and removing the long and often abused turn lanes that span Main Street, were all thrown out as possible solutions.
“I think the turn lanes closer to the intersections seem to be abused; it becomes the Cortez autobahn where you have people racing down the highway,” said city manager Shane Hale.
One suggestion from an attendee was lowering the speed limit as it foes through town. McVaugh said that not only does CDOT have to conduct a traffic study which could actually result in a higher speed threshhold, but cited numerous studies and personal observations about the effectiveness of posting a sign.
“Changing a sign doesn’t necessarily change behavior,” he noted. “There are some design things that can be done to manager speed and change the behavior of drivers. It’s often 2, 3, 4 changes to get that to happen; there’s no one thing that does it.”
McVaugh also stressed that there is currently no funding to implement any changes, but having a cohesive plan in place and an intergovernmental agreement with CDOT strongly aids in the process of securing grants.
The agencies will be working over the next few months to compile data like accident frequencies and traffic volume into a report along with the received citizen feedback. More one-on-one meetings with business and individual property owners will be held in August.